restored cubic-project folder does produce unbootable ISO

Joe,

First, let's see if anything is missing from the restored project files...

Would you please cut and paste the contents of your cubic.conf file.

Also, please share the output of...

$ ls -la <your cubic project directory>

You're welcome :)

->Would you please cut and paste the contents of your cubic.conf file
[Project]
cubic_version = 2021.01-42-release~202101290347~ubuntu20.04.1
create_date = 2021-02-22 17:40
modify_date = 2021-02-22 19:56
directory = /home/test/LMint20-Remaster

[Original]
iso_file_name = linuxmint-20-cinnamon-64bit.iso
iso_directory = /media/test/Daten/toCheck/Linux-ISOs
iso_volume_id = Linux Mint 20 Cinnamon 64-bit
iso_release_name = Ulyana
iso_disk_name = Linux Mint 20 "Ulyana" - Release amd64

[Custom]
iso_version_number = 2021.02.22
iso_file_name = linuxmint-20-cinnamon-64bit-2021.02.22.iso
iso_directory = /home/test/LMint20-Remaster
iso_volume_id = Linux Mint 20 Cinnamon 64-bit
iso_release_name = Custom Ulyana
iso_disk_name = Linux Mint 20 Cinnamon 64-bit "Custom Ulyana"

[Status]
is_success_copy = True
is_success_extract = True
iso_template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
casper_directory = casper
iso_checksum = 7269600c3ef77518af47f6620596a9d2
iso_checksum_file_name = linuxmint-20-cinnamon-64bit-2021.02.22.md5

[Options]
update_os_release = True
boot_configurations = boot/grub/grub.cfg,boot/grub/loopback.cfg
compression = gzip

->$ ls -la <your cubic project directory>
mint@mint /media/mint/9C50E9B750E997F2/Remaster-Expand/LMint20-Remaster $ ls -la
total 48
drwx------ 1 mint mint 4096 Feb 25 07:18 .
drwx------ 1 mint mint 0 Mar 29 16:47 ..
-rw------- 1 mint mint 1617 Feb 22 19:22 cubic.conf
drwx------ 1 mint mint 4096 Feb 22 17:35 custom-disk
drwx------ 1 mint mint 4096 Jun 24 2020 custom-root
-rw------- 1 mint mint 0 Feb 22 16:45 .#custom-root.lck
-rw------- 1 mint mint 32768 Feb 22 16:41 partition-1.img
mint@mint /media/mint/9C50E9B750E997F2/Remaster-Expand/LMint20-Remaster $

PS
"LMint20-Remaster.tar" was untared on/with a Linux Live system. Had to wipe the orignal Mint-installation (with Cubic) on my hdd.

At first glance, the project directory structure looks good.

I wonder if there is a permissions problem inside the custom-root directory?
Sometimes, with tar, the permissions change.

I'll try an experiment on my end using the tar commands you shared above.
It may take me some time to get to it, but I'll let you know what I find.

Ok that's great, thanks a lot in advance for your help!

I was able to successfully archive and restore a Cubic project.
The tar commands I used look exactly like the commands you have used.
See if the tree commands and diff command I used below reveal any file or ownership differences between your bootable (original) cubic project vs. your unbootable (restored) project.

Here are the steps I took...

#
# CREATE NEW CUBIC PROJECT
#

# Create a new Cubic project. For this test, I chose to customize
# linuxmint-20-xfce-64bit.iso because it is only 1.9 GB.
# Make customizations.
# Generate the customized *.iso file.
# Exit Cubic.
# Boot into the customized *.iso file using VirtualBox to make sure it
# works.
# In VirtualBox, use `lsb_release --all` to see the time stamp.

#
# ARCHIVE CUBIC PROJECT
#

# Change to your Cubic project directory.
$ cd /parent/directory/MyCubicProject

# To save space, remove the *.iso and *.md5 files, if they exist.
$ rm linuxmint-20-xfce-64bit-2021.04.09.*

# List all files and ownership of the original Cubic project.
# This is for the verification step below.
$ sudo tree -p -u -g -f -i -a > ~/01_linuxmint.txt

# Change to the PARENT directory of your Cubic project folder.
# This is important for the tar command below.
$ cd /parent/directory

# Archive (tar) the Cubic project directory.
# The target directory for the *.tar.gz file can be anywhere you like.
# However, you must be in the parent directory of the Cubic project.
$ sudo tar -cvpzf ~/my_cubic_project.tar.gz MyCubicProject

# Change the ownership of the tar file.
$ sudo chown `whoami`:`whoami` ~/my_cubic_project.tar.gz

#
# RESTORE CUBIC PROJECT
#

# Change to the PARENT directory of your Cubic project folder.
# This is important for the untar command below.
$ cd /parent/directory

# Delete the original Cubic project.
$ sudo rm -rf MyCubicProject

# Extract the archived Cubic project directory.
$ sudo tar -zxvf ~/my_cubic_project.tar.gz
$ ls -la

# Change to your Cubic project directory.
$ cd /parent/directory/MyCubicProject

# List all files and ownership of the recovered Cubic project.
# This is for the verification step below.
$ sudo tree -p -u -g -f -i -a > ~/02_linuxmint.txt

#
# VERIFY RESTORED CUBIC PROJECT
#

# Check if files or ownership have changed.
# There should be no differences.
$ diff ~/01_linuxmint.txt ~/02_linuxmint.txt

#
# TEST RESTORED CUBIC PROJECT
#

# Start Cubic.
# Open restored project.
# Generate the customized *.iso file.
# Exit Cubic.
# Boot into the newly generated *.iso file using VirtualBox to make sure
# it works.
# In VirtualBox, use `lsb_release --all` to see the time stamp.

Thank's for the feedback!

Installed Vbox 6.1with Extensions with 'abt get install virtualbox', but surprisingly it seems that only 32bit guest-os's are supported
(at least only 32bit Linux os's are listed before selecting the *.iso file)

Since I tried nevertheless Mint20 (which is 64bit) the following error messages are shown:

- Failed to open a session for the voirtual machine LMint20
- VT-x is disabled in the BIOS for all CPU modes

But I am wondering why this VT-X-thing was not an issue under Mint 18.2 32 bit (but used only 32bit guest os's)…...

Is this related to your original question? If not, you ask a new question, so it's easier for others to find answers if they have a similar problem.

Also, if comment #5 solved your problem, please mark the answer as solved.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Virtual Box
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm not sure this is the issue you are experiencing, but there were some issues with virtual box and some newer kernels.

I usually install the version directly from Oracle, which seems to work better...

(I'm assuming you are installing inside Cubic's Terminal page, but the following would work outside of Cubic as well-- just add sudo as necessary).

wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox_2016.asc -O- | apt-key add -
echo "deb [arch=amd64] https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian `lsb_release -sc` contrib" | tee --append /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list

apt install virtualbox-6.1

Also, you should install the dkms package.

->(I'm assuming you are installing inside Cubic's Terminal page, but the following would work outside of Cubic as well-- just add sudo ->as necessary).

Oops.. made a mistake by trying to install Vbox outside Cubic's Terminal page:(

sudo wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox_2016.asc -O- | apt-key add -
E: This command can only be used by root.

Any idea what I am doing wrong?

Thanks a lot!

sudo wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox_2016.asc -O- | apt-key add -
E: This command can only be used by root.

You are putting sudo to the wrong place

wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox_2016.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

Thanks for the help. Still struggling with this command….

test@test-HP-Compaq:~$ wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox_2016.asc -O- |
> sudo apt-key add -
OK
test@test-HP-Compaq:~$ echo "deb [arch=amd64] https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian `lsb_release -sc`
> contrib" | tee --append /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list
tee: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list: Permission denied

Any idea?

My understanding is, that in order to be able to run 64Bit GuestOS's in VBox, VT-x- and VT-d-support(CPU) is required .
At the moment I don't have such hardware :(

Will try it again asap on an other machine..

Are you sure that your hardware doesn't support it? VT-x often is disabled in BIOS by default until you enable it.

What is the output of the command
lscpu

mint@mint ~ $ lscpu
Architecture: i686
CPU op-mode(s): 32-bit, 64-bit
Byte Order: Little Endian
CPU(s): 2
On-line CPU(s) list: 0,1
Thread(s) per core: 1
Core(s) per socket: 2
Socket(s): 1
Vendor ID: GenuineIntel
CPU family: 6
Model: 15
Stepping: 6
CPU MHz: 2400.000
BogoMIPS: 4784.50
Virtualization: VT-x
L1d cache: 32K
L1i cache: 32K
L2 cache: 4096K

Thanks for the suggestion! Should VT-x (without VT-d) suffice ?

But I am still unable to find out in the BIOS how to enable VT-x. I don't know if it's a good idea to update the BIOS...

As far as I know, VT-x should be sufficient and it is listed as available in the lscpu output.

Output in comment #6 states:
"- VT-x is disabled in the BIOS for all CPU modes"

Enabling it in BIOS should solve the problem. Depending on your BIOS manufacturer this flag may be named differently (e.g. "virtualization technology")
Maybe https://2nwiki.2n.cz/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=75202968 helps

Not only 'lscpu' indicates a vm-x capable CPU but as well 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' (under flags) :)

Nevertheless, I am unable to find a possibility to turn on vt-x in the BIOS ....

mint@mint:~$ cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor : 0
vendor_id : GenuineIntel
cpu family : 6
model : 15
model name : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40GHz
stepping : 6
microcode : 0xd0
cpu MHz : 1617.691
cache size : 4096 KB
...
...
flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ht tm pbe syscall nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl cpuid aperfmperf pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm lahf_lm pti tpr_shadow dtherm

Hello again!

What a shame that I found the Intel Virtualization Technology switch in the BIOS only now....
I was looking for it in "Advanced" and "System Configuration" but in my BIOS it's under
Security!

I'll keep you informed.

This question was expired because it remained in the 'Open' state without activity for the last 15 days.

Still struggling with Vbox...

Failed to load R0 module /usr/lib/virtualbox/ExtensionPacks/Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack/linux.amd64/VBoxEhciR0.r0: RTLdrGetBits failed (VERR_SYMBOL_VALUE_TOO_BIG).
Failed to load ring-0 module 'VBoxEhciR0.r0' for device 'usb-ehci' (VERR_SYMBOL_VALUE_TOO_BIG).

Result Code:
NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0x80004005)
Component:
ConsoleWrap
Interface:
IConsole {872da645-4a9b-1727-bee2-5585105b9eed}

I'll keep you informed.....

Are the version numbers of virtualbox and the ExtensionPack identical?

What is the output of the commands

vboxmanage --version
vboxmanage list extpacks

Thanks for the help!

test@test-HP-Compaq:/etc/skel/.config$ vboxmanage --version
6.1.16_Ubuntur140961

test@test-HP-Compaq:/etc/skel/.config$ vboxmanage list extpacks
Extension Packs: 2
Pack no. 0: Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack
Version: 6.1.8
Revision: 137981
Edition:
Description: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure integration, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 Host Controller, Host Webcam, VirtualBox RDP, PXE ROM, Disk Encryption, NVMe.
VRDE Module: VBoxVRDP
Usable: true
Why unusable:

Pack no. 1: VNC
Version: 6.1.16
Revision: 140961
Edition:
Description: VNC plugin module
VRDE Module: VBoxVNC
Usable: true
Why unusable:

PS
I tried first to "install" V5-extensions by mistake insted of the V6 extensions

PS 2:
I have to admitt that I did install VBox with the command 'apt-get install install virtualbox' and not
with 'sudo apt-key add' because I had problems with it (comment 11)

Your output:

vboxmanage --version 6.1.16_Ubuntur140961
Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack Version: 6.1.8

These two do not fit together and that causes the error message.

You have to remove the VirtualBox Extension Pack version 6.1.8 or install version 6.1.16
https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/6.1.16/Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-6.1.16.vbox-extpack
(License restrictions apply!)

->These two do not fit together and that causes the error message.
Thanks, you got it :-)

[Comment 5]
[# In VirtualBox, use `lsb_release --all` to see the time stamp.]

Now I am struggling with `lsb_release --all` (on the CLI, after the customized ISO is booted in VBox)

mint@mint:~$ lsb:release all
No LSB modules are available
Distributor ID: Linuxmint
Description Linxu Mint 20 Xfce 64-bi 2021.0 customized using Cubic on 2021-06--09 10:07
Release: 20
Codename: ulyana

Therefore I hoped installing lsb-core ('apt-get install lsb-core' ) would help. But

mint@mint:~$ lsb__release all
LSB Version: core-11.1.0ubuntu2-noarch:security-11.1.9ubuntu2-noarch
Distributor ID: Linuxmint
Description Linxu Mint 20 Xfce 64-bi 2021.0 customized using Cubic on 2021-06--09 10:07
Release: 20
Codename: ulyana

Any ideas what I am doing wrong?

The output contains

customized using Cubic on 2021-06--09 10:07

showing the timestamp.
Isn't this sufficient for you?

Hello forum,

Finally... with your big help (detailed instructions) and patience :-) it was possible
to backup and restore (and run) a Cubic project based on linuxmint-20-xfce!

I dont't know yet why it was not working with LM20 Cinnamon. But what I can remember is that:

1.
I did not change the ownershipt before restoring the tar with

$ sudo chown `whoami`:`whoami` ~/LMint20-Remaster.tar.gz

and

2.
did not use ~/ to restore/extract the LMint20-Remaster.tar.gz
(instead of 'sudo tar -zxvf ~/LMint20-Remaster.tar.gz' just used 'sudo tar -zxvf LMint20-Remaster.tar.gz')

Thank's again for the outstanding support!

Joe